Prince Harry and Meghan Markle chose to leave their royal roles behind in 2020. Photo / AP
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle chose to leave their royal roles behind in 2020. Photo / AP
Sarah Ferguson has taken a thinly-veiled swiped at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in the bluntest remarks a Royal Family member has made about the couple yet.
The Duchess of York, who is divorced from Prince Andrew but lives with him at the Royal Lodge in Windsor, said royals who leave the Firm must decide whether they are “in or out”.
Without explicitly using Harry and Meghan’s names, the Duchess said royals who choose to leave the fold “can’t sit on the fence”.
Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York poses with her book A Most Intriguing Lady. Photo / Getty Images
The Duchess made the comments while reflecting on her own decision to leave the royal family following her separation from the Duke of York in 1992 and subsequent divorce four years later.
“Well, you can’t have it both ways. You can’t sit on the fence and keep one foot in and one foot out. You’re either in or out,” she told The Independent.
“But then don’t cry about not being invited to weddings. You chose to leave, now go and live it – and be it.”
The Duchess also appeared on British television show Loose Women on Wednesday to promote her new romance novel, A Most Intriguing Lady.
During the chat, she said she did not expect an invitation to King Charles’ Coronation because “you can’t have it both ways”.
She was, however, invited to Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral as she maintained a good relationship with Her Majesty after her divorce from Andrew. The Duchess was not invited to Prince Philip’s funeral in 2021. Only 30 mourners were allowed to attend because of Covid rules.
The Duchess said she planned to watch the Coronation on TV, put up some bunting and enjoy “a little tea room and a coronation chicken sandwich”.
Despite no longer being married to Andrew, she is allowed to continue to style herself as Sarah, Duchess of York. She will lose her title if she ever remarries.
“I always love to watch it on telly because you hear a lot on telly, the commentator’s always good and then all the family come back,” she said.
Sarah Ferguson has criticised those who leave the royal family and then complain about 'not being invited to weddings'. Photo / AP
“Because remember I am divorced from him so I don’t expect ... you can’t have it both ways. You can’t be divorced and say ‘I want this’.
“I think it’s really great to be supportive... also when the family come home I know all the ins and outs and commentating on television.”
The Duchess added that Charles would be “an amazing King” with “lovely Camilla at his side”. She also threw her support behind the decision to make Camilla’s title Queen, rather than Queen Consort, following the Coronation.
The Sussexes stood down as members of the royal family and dropped their HRH titles in January 2020. They no longer receive any public funds.
“We intend to step back as senior members of the royal family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen,” the couple said at the time.
They later moved to Montecito, California, with their children Archie and Lilibet. It is unclear whether the Sussexes will attend the Coronation. They said they had received “email correspondence” about the event but did not go into detail.
Harry is understood to have demanded an apology from Charles and Prince William before he considers whether he will attend. But that appears to not be forthcoming after Harry disclosed a series of private details about the family in his memoir, Spare, Netflix documentary and interviews on both sides of the Atlantic.
The latest interviews are not the first time the Duchess of York has appeared to distance herself from Meghan.
She previously told the UK’s Daily Telegraph that she “doesn’t know” Meghan and “haven’t really met her”.
That’s despite Meghan telling Oprah Winfrey that Sarah taught her how to curtsy ahead of her first meeting with the late Queen. The same story was told in Harry’s book Spare.
Meghan said in the Oprah interview: “I didn’t know I was going to meet [the Queen] until moments before. We were in the car and we were going to the Royal Lodge for lunch, and he [Harry] was like, ‘Oh, my grandmother is here, she’s gonna be there after church.’
“Right in front of the house we practised and ran in. Fergie ran out and said, ‘Do you know how to curtsy?’
“Apparently I did a very deep curtsy, I don’t remember it, and then we sat there and we chatted.”
Harry wrote of the encounter in his book. “First stop, Royal Lodge. To meet Fergie, because Meg already knew Fergie’s daughter Euge, and Jack, so this seemed a logical baby step,” he wrote.
“Fergie came outside, somewhat aflutter, and said: ‘Do you know how to curtsy?’ Meg shook her head. Fergie demonstrated once. Meg imitated her.
“As we walked towards the door Fergie and I both leaned into Meg, whispering quick reminders. When you first meet the Queen it’s Your Majesty. Thereafter it’s just Ma’am. Rhymes with ham. Just, whatever you do, don’t talk over her, we both said, talking over each other.”
